Former Detroit Tigers catcher Rich Rowland has died at 62. His son Robby shared the news Thursday, calling his father his hero, best friend, and role model.
For Tigers fans who remember the early 1990s, Rowland was never a household name. He was the kind of player organizations quietly count on: a late bloomer with a lumberjack’s build and a catcher’s toughness who worked his way from the California woods to Tiger Stadium.
Born Feb. 25, 1964, in Cloverdale, California, Rowland starred in football, basketball, and baseball in high school, then left the game for a stretch to work in the timber industry. He returned at Mendocino College, hit .462 as a catcher, and the Tigers took him in the 17th round of the 1988 draft.
Two years later, he was in Detroit. On Sept. 7, 1990, Sparky Anderson put him in the lineup against Milwaukee. Two days later he collected his first big-league hit, a double.
Most of his Tigers years were spent in Toledo. That is where the story really lives. In 1992, Rowland mashed 25 home runs and drove in 82 for the Mud Hens, made the International League All-Star team, and was named the Tigers’ minor-league player of the year.
Sparky had already taken notice: “He’s a big strong kid with lots of power and strength. He’s got a great chance to play.”
Behind Mickey Tettleton in Detroit, playing time was scarce. Rowland appeared in 38 games over four seasons with the Tigers, hitting .205 with five RBI. He never homered in a Detroit uniform.
The at-bats were few, but the organization kept him close enough that he was protected in the 1992 expansion draft.
On April 1, 1994, Detroit sent him to Boston for John Flaherty. In Fenway he finally got a real look and hit all nine of his career home runs that strike-shortened season. His big-league line finished at .213 with 26 RBI in 98 games. The numbers were modest. The path was not.
Rowland later returned to woodworking and life in Cloverdale. Those who covered the Tigers of that era remember a strong-armed, hard-working catcher who paid his dues in the Mud Hens’ heat and never complained about the backup role.
Detroit drafted him, developed him, and gave him his first September call-up. That is the part of the story that belongs here.
The Tigers family extends condolences to Robby, the rest of the Rowland family, and everyone who knew Rich as a teammate, a dad, and a man who once traded an ax for a catcher’s mitt and made it all the way to the big leagues.
